I choose to use this video as a discussion point for this blog entry as I feel that brings up some aspects of education that I feel strongly about. Maybe because I was the kid in class who was better at subjects like Art, Drama and English. It became clear to me early on that this wasn't as highly coveted as being strong in other subject areas. It probably didn't help that I received comments from my teachers on my report card such as " spends too much time looking out the window"or "spends too much time in class talking". How do you teach your students who are chatty day-dreamers?
Perhaps your chatty day-dreamers are the ones that need an engaging classroom experience the most and will respond most eagerly to creative, constructive activities.
If I was to take just a few things from this excellent lecture from Sir Ken Robinson, it would have to be the thought that I would like to strive to create an aesthetic classroom one in which my students are "fully alive" with all their senses engaged. I would love for my students to be divergent thinkers, where they have the ability to see lots of possible answers and in order to facilitate this kind of classroom I need to remember that "great learning happens in groups".
With my background as a Drama teacher I would like to think that I already had a good solid basis for this type of teaching. How then do I use these skills in a classroom with desks and no built in practical component? Technology allows us a world of possibilities.
New media became part of the Drama curriculum a long time ago, it was more a matter of finding of the resources for the students to use. Now however most if not all of our students have access to computers and the Internet and are connected in many other ways also. I'm very lucky to be in a well resourced school where the students have access to a wealth of software and hardware to make all of their media dreams come true.
What am I going to do about it? I hope to create learning experiences where students can be in charge of their own learning through well structured units of work that allow for original thought and a plethora of questions. I would love each of my students to have a voice, not just the noisy ones. Using blogging tools, video construction tools, podcasting, animation and game development I would like my students to explore the curriculum.
A wonderful group of year 8 boys have started a game development at lunch where we all play with Scratch and try to learn about how to create simple games. The most wonderful part of this is seeing how collaborative this workshop is. One students will find out how to do something and peer tutor the students sitting next to him. They relish the opportunity to remix each others work.
Next year I hope to to use Quest Atlantis in the classroom now that I have finished my teacher training. Allowing my students the opportunity to explore content through the eyes of their online avatar wandering around another world. This learning experience has turned from something that could have been on the pages of a text book into an immersive experience.
Another wonderful tool I would like to use in a more creative way is the ClickView Live set up we have. Students could each create a live newscast as a way of using those higher order thinking skills. The challenge will be not only to synthesis the information but also to present it for live casting around the college.
At this point in time I don't know what role I will have next year. I would love to be a Teacher Librarian with the focus on technology integration but I know that it really depends which school you get as to how much time you will have to focus on your areas of interest. I would also really love to still have a small teaching load so that I can try out all of the wonderful things I learn from my PLN.
Recently I attended a technology integrators conference and really expanded my network. This is something that I will focus on in the future, not only keeping up with my networks blogs and Tweets but also making an effort to contribute so that other teachers can remix and refine my ideas and use them with their students.
Through out this course I have seen the importance of being a voice within your school. We are very lucky to be teaching in a time of great change in Australia. The National Curriculum and also the need for school policy documents around the use of digital tools has opened up the lines of communication in schools. It's a wonderful time to ensure that your voice is heard and that your students will have opportunities to participate in the world of web2.0. I have learnt that censoring social networking and other content sharing sites may not be the best answer within the school setting. These tools can be used to enhance teaching and learning.
I look forward to trying to use Twitter in the classroom. Jeff Utecht who did the keynote on day two used the back channel at the AIS ICT conference last week to engage all of the day-dreamers in the room. See the embedded tweets in the right hand column. I had a wonderful time Tweeting some key comments that contributed to some great discussion. I hope to transform my classroom to a room where each student is engaged and can find a medium to have their voice heard. Exciting times ahead.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Producing Sites , Exploring Identities: Youth Online Authorship by Susannah Stern.
Producing Sites , Exploring Identities: Youth Online Authorship by Susannah Stern.
The article that I have chosen to discuss is called Producing sites, Exploring Identities: Youth Online Authorship, which is a chapter from Youth, Identity and Digital Media. The focus of this article is on what makes writing in the online environment appealing for teenagers and how it shapes their experience of the world around them. Stern focuses on the use of personal home pages and blogs in her discussion she does not include social networking sites as they have their own particular issues that need addressing in addition to the ideas raised in this article.
The key thoughts that I will comment on are those pertaining to the idea that teenagers are given a voice in which they can address their growing sense of self and place in the world. Dresang and Koh (2009) agree with Stern and note that "digital age youth who express opinions are forming and demonstrating their identities by creating information. They constantly negotiate their identity and values by interacting with information in the diverse and connected global society". Stern (2008) says that teenagers can play with various constructions of self in order see how they fit in with their micro world as well as the whole world at large. They can also experiment with different versions of self in an arguably safe place and get instant feedback back. Some teenagers see the blog as a place in which they can reflect on themselves and see the transition from child to adult take place, others use the blog as a kind of therapy where they can divulge attitudes and secrets to the world. The use of blogs is diverse but the common link is the individual playing with self-identity and self-inquiry.
It seems that parents, educators and media have many different views of what it means to be a teenager and how they interact with new media. There seems to a buzz around the safety of our youth online as there are a sexual predators waiting to take advantage of our children. According to Stern our teenagers are aware of the threat but blasé about it in the same breath. From Stern’s findings I can understand why this is so. The amount of self worth and feelings of well-being that our young people get from the power of having a voice far outweighs these negative aspects. Mazzarella (2005) notes that the Internet can offer a safe place where teenagers are free to be themselves with out endangering their real life relationships. Perhaps if Stern’s findings were read by more of the adult community there would be less confusion over why our teenagers are drawn to this type of self-expression. Parents would be comforted in the knowledge that there children had a place away from their families that they could explore aspects of self and critically reflect on their position in the world. My role as an educator will focus on providing environments where we can openly discuss what details of our identity are important to keep private and how we can shape a positive digital footprint.
Why are our children stepping on to the world stage and putting their thoughts and feelings out there for the world to see? Stern found that it was largely due to the curiosity of seeing what would happen mixed with a desire to master new technology. Teenagers were keen to ‘learn by doing’ which is at the very core of inquiry based learning. Surely if our students are intrinsically motivated to go on a journey of self discovery and inquiry we as adults need to be filled with hope that these skills will translate to other aspects of their lives where they can put these skills of questioning and critical thinking into play.
Stern found that there were several different types of identity play happening on personal web pages and blogs. One of these types of exploration centered around the construction of self. Teenagers wanted to create a person who they hoped to be or who reflected a more analytical or witty version of themselves. This aspect of self was who they are when they don’t fear what their peer group of family would say. The findings demonstrated that these aspects of self where still the same people as the off line ‘them’ but just showed aspects of their personalities that they may not feel brave enough to explore in real life for fear of rejection from their peers. On this same line, teenagers that are exploring new aspects of their sexuality or counter culture that they feel may not sit well with their current construction of self have a safe place where they can explore that side of themselves with like minded people.
Another interesting use of blogs and personal home pages by teenagers is when it used to document the growth of that individual from child to adult. The individual can look back at how much they have grown or how their opinions have changed and see it as a digital scrap book where they can post images, video, poetry and art. Harrison and Barthel (2009) comment on the use of content creation and sharing personal artistic content such as artwork, stories, photos or videos as amoung the most popular category of content creation online. Some teenagers were said to see their blogs as a form of therapy where they can just get all of their ideas out of there head and feel more centered as a result of it. What a wonderful way for us as adults to know that our youth are finding ways of exploring their place in the world in a creative and reflective way.
Stern found that one of the ways that young people discovered blogs was by being set class work that included blog construction. I intend to keep using blogs as a tool in the classroom in the hope that some of my students will continue on with them and start a journey of self-discovery.
Dresang, E & Koh, K. (2009). Radical change theory, youth information behavior, and school libraries. Library Trends, 58(1), 26.
Harrison, T. M., & Barthel, B. (2009). Wielding new media in web 2.0: Exploring the history of engagement with the collaborative construction of media products. New Media & Society, 11(1-2),
155. doi:10
Mazzarella, S. R. (2005) Girl wide web: Girls, the Internet, and the negotiation of identity. New York : Peter Lang.
Stern, S. (2008) Producing sites, exploring identities: Youth online authorship. In D. Buckingham, Youth, identity, and digital media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dresang, E & Koh, K. (2009). Radical change theory, youth information behavior, and school libraries. Library Trends, 58(1), 26.
Harrison, T. M., & Barthel, B. (2009). Wielding new media in web 2.0: Exploring the history of engagement with the collaborative construction of media products. New Media & Society, 11(1-2),
155. doi:10
Mazzarella, S. R. (2005) Girl wide web: Girls, the Internet, and the negotiation of identity. New York : Peter Lang.
Stern, S. (2008) Producing sites, exploring identities: Youth online authorship. In D. Buckingham, Youth, identity, and digital media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Isa's thoughts on tranformations and innovative technologies
A Teacher Librarian’s (TL) role is to support staff and students within the school. Teachers need to understand the world that students engage in and help them to develop skill to safety interact within it. By developing pedagogy and curriculum along with meaningful resources, teachers can use the internet to better engage and include young people in a safe environment.
Teachers need to use internet experiences such as blogs and social networking sites in their curriculum. TLs need to be familiar with these internet applications. So that they can steer teachers towards applications that best suit the learning experience. By doing so, teachers can engage students in a familiar environment (James et al, 2008). Not only will TLs be able to help teachers in this manner, they will also be there to show teachers how to use the application.
TLs can endorse and support change with the school is by examining resources provided. Making judgements on what is worth keeping or procuring for the library will enable quality materials to be selected (Dezuanni, 2010b). TLs should work with teachers to ensure relevant and popular texts are examined. Exploring what videos are popular on YouTube would be a worthwhile start as these are not the generic texts that teachers would think of using. By using the internet to find quality resources, a greater understanding of the world that young people use to gain experience will develop. By using resources from the internet students will be better able to understand and engage with the curriculum.
Teachers need to understand that the way they used to participate in society and explore who they were is not the same way that young people do it today. Times have changed and so have the methods that youth represent themselves (Dezuanni, 2010c). Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have taken over other methods used. Belonging to a group is no longer about wearing certain types of clothes and acting in a certain way rather it is about what quiz is taken and what the result is (Boyd, 2008). It is the responsibility of the TL to ensure that teachers understand how students express themselves and how to incorporate this into their introductory lessons. The first lesson that students and their teacher meet. By using the Learning Place, students can experience the familiar environment within Education Queensland’s boundaries and teachers can use a different method of communication. TLs need to endorse and support this to ensure its successful integration into pedagogy.
Ensuring that students are digitally literate is not just the responsibility of the computing teacher. To help students to become digitally literate, the TL can offer lessons out of class whereby students use programs to help them participate in the digital world and learn how to become writers of this medium (Dezuanni, 2010e). For instance, TLs can educate students on YouTube. To do this, students will be offered lessons to learn how to use Windows Movie Maker as well as either a webcam or a camera. Students will then make a video and remix it to make the message that trying to send more obvious. Using YouTube will demonstrate how there are consequences for items placed on a public site (Dezuanni, 2010a). Issues such as control and surveillance can be examined and understood when a practical example is used. Ensuring students understand that there are consequences with some forms of media will help them to appreciate and take precautions when participating in the global society.
Teaching teachers and students about researching is a traditional TLs role. New methods such as using a social networking site to gather information should be explored. Teachers and principals need to also understand that Facebook can provide ways to retrieve information. Companies such as the Children’s Book Council of Australia have a Facebook page. This provides young people a unique opportunity to gather information from the company without needing to use old fashion methods such as writing letters. By keeping up with the times, teachers can engage students in the research process by allowing them to use methods that are familiar to them.
TLs have a massive job in front of them to ensure that the internet as a medium is utilised by teachers. By using this medium teachers can engage students in curriculum process that would otherwise be boring. TLs need to ensure that they are a link between the teacher and the student’s world. The best method is to change curriculum and pedagogy and demonstrate and teach teachers how to use the medium. Keeping up to date with the current methods will ensure that more students participate in pedagogy utilising methods they know and ensure that success is more frequently found by young people. TLs must ensure they keep up to date with the current online applications to ensure that they can work with teachers to explore new methods that will better engage young people.
References
Boyd, D. (2008). Why Youth Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media, 119-142. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dmal.9780262524834.119
Dezuanni, M. (2010a). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 9 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved September 25, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010b). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 4 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010c). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 2 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010d). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 3 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010e). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 1 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
James, C., Davis, K., Flores, A., Francis, J.M., Pettingill, L., Rundle, M., & Gardner, H. (2008). Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media: A Synthesis from the Good Play Project. GoodWork Project Report Series, 54, 1-62. Retrieved August 5, 2010, from
http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?attachment=true&navItem=content&content_id=_3235259_1&displayName=Reading+4+-+Young+People%2C+Ethics+and+the+New+Digital+Media&course_id=_64558_1&href=/%40%40/2705D7B1EBCA39391F7AA5DE241D750D/courses/1/CLN647_10se2/content/_3235259_1/GoodWorkPaper54.pdf
Teachers need to use internet experiences such as blogs and social networking sites in their curriculum. TLs need to be familiar with these internet applications. So that they can steer teachers towards applications that best suit the learning experience. By doing so, teachers can engage students in a familiar environment (James et al, 2008). Not only will TLs be able to help teachers in this manner, they will also be there to show teachers how to use the application.
TLs can endorse and support change with the school is by examining resources provided. Making judgements on what is worth keeping or procuring for the library will enable quality materials to be selected (Dezuanni, 2010b). TLs should work with teachers to ensure relevant and popular texts are examined. Exploring what videos are popular on YouTube would be a worthwhile start as these are not the generic texts that teachers would think of using. By using the internet to find quality resources, a greater understanding of the world that young people use to gain experience will develop. By using resources from the internet students will be better able to understand and engage with the curriculum.
Teachers need to understand that the way they used to participate in society and explore who they were is not the same way that young people do it today. Times have changed and so have the methods that youth represent themselves (Dezuanni, 2010c). Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have taken over other methods used. Belonging to a group is no longer about wearing certain types of clothes and acting in a certain way rather it is about what quiz is taken and what the result is (Boyd, 2008). It is the responsibility of the TL to ensure that teachers understand how students express themselves and how to incorporate this into their introductory lessons. The first lesson that students and their teacher meet. By using the Learning Place, students can experience the familiar environment within Education Queensland’s boundaries and teachers can use a different method of communication. TLs need to endorse and support this to ensure its successful integration into pedagogy.
Ensuring that students are digitally literate is not just the responsibility of the computing teacher. To help students to become digitally literate, the TL can offer lessons out of class whereby students use programs to help them participate in the digital world and learn how to become writers of this medium (Dezuanni, 2010e). For instance, TLs can educate students on YouTube. To do this, students will be offered lessons to learn how to use Windows Movie Maker as well as either a webcam or a camera. Students will then make a video and remix it to make the message that trying to send more obvious. Using YouTube will demonstrate how there are consequences for items placed on a public site (Dezuanni, 2010a). Issues such as control and surveillance can be examined and understood when a practical example is used. Ensuring students understand that there are consequences with some forms of media will help them to appreciate and take precautions when participating in the global society.
Teaching teachers and students about researching is a traditional TLs role. New methods such as using a social networking site to gather information should be explored. Teachers and principals need to also understand that Facebook can provide ways to retrieve information. Companies such as the Children’s Book Council of Australia have a Facebook page. This provides young people a unique opportunity to gather information from the company without needing to use old fashion methods such as writing letters. By keeping up with the times, teachers can engage students in the research process by allowing them to use methods that are familiar to them.
TLs have a massive job in front of them to ensure that the internet as a medium is utilised by teachers. By using this medium teachers can engage students in curriculum process that would otherwise be boring. TLs need to ensure that they are a link between the teacher and the student’s world. The best method is to change curriculum and pedagogy and demonstrate and teach teachers how to use the medium. Keeping up to date with the current methods will ensure that more students participate in pedagogy utilising methods they know and ensure that success is more frequently found by young people. TLs must ensure they keep up to date with the current online applications to ensure that they can work with teachers to explore new methods that will better engage young people.
References
Boyd, D. (2008). Why Youth Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. Youth, Identity, and Digital Media, 119-142. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dmal.9780262524834.119
Dezuanni, M. (2010a). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 9 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved September 25, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010b). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 4 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved August 13, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010c). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 2 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010d). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 3 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
Dezuanni, M. (2010e). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Texts: Week 1 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_64558_1%26url%3D
James, C., Davis, K., Flores, A., Francis, J.M., Pettingill, L., Rundle, M., & Gardner, H. (2008). Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media: A Synthesis from the Good Play Project. GoodWork Project Report Series, 54, 1-62. Retrieved August 5, 2010, from
http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?attachment=true&navItem=content&content_id=_3235259_1&displayName=Reading+4+-+Young+People%2C+Ethics+and+the+New+Digital+Media&course_id=_64558_1&href=/%40%40/2705D7B1EBCA39391F7AA5DE241D750D/courses/1/CLN647_10se2/content/_3235259_1/GoodWorkPaper54.pdf
Friday, October 8, 2010
Youtube video on Facebook etiquette
This video that I sourced from YouTube got me thinking about one of the negative aspects of social media, namely inappropriate online conduct. Time and time again I’m surprised by the level of anger and harsh comments that are left on peoples blogs, forums and social media pages. Although there are many wonderful things that can be gained by having an anonymous place to express opinions online, one of the downsides can be the lack of common courtesy. This video deals with these serious issues in a light hearted way, although it is aimed specifically at Facebook etiquette most of the rules can translate to any online environment.
Cyber bullying is a serious issue, having a lighthearted way to introduce discussion about this issue is a powerful tool for educators. Rule number two “don’t post embarrassing photos of other people” is a rule that is particularly important to discuss with high school students. There seems to be a really blasé attitude to taking and sharing photos without consent. Discussion about what is and isn’t appropriate can begin in the classroom. Educators can start to raise these issues by embedding information literacy skills in the classroom practice. Rule number five “don’t start hate groups” is a rule that can also be dealt with in the classroom. The educator can set up an inquiry task where students are asked to comment and write on each other’s work. The teacher can model appropriate positive comments and open discussion about what may or may not be appropriate. Starting a culture of open discussion where negativity can be left at the door may end up catching on and stay with the students when they get home. Educators can set their students up for happy, successful communication online by having best practice modeled for them as well as opportunities to get online in a safe environment. Giving students the tools to deal with inappropriate comments will help them participate in healthy online discussions.
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